Dodger Deadline Deals

Phil Gurnee ♦ August 3, 2026 ♦ Leave a comment

The Dodgers had what we might call an interesting deadline. They certainly made the biggest splash, but instead of more expected splashes they simply created some ripples with minor deals. Yet, in the past, these minor deals have ended up having major impacts. I would not be surprised if that is the case once again as I liked every deal they made. Let’s take a look at them:

Dodgers receive Hunter Feduccia and relief pitching prospects Jacob Kmatz, Dodger give up Jack Suwinksi and international pool money. Feduccia was originally drafted by the Dodgers in the 12th round in 2018. He moved up the system and peaked in AAA with Oklahoma with a .867 OPS. Being blocked by Rushing, Feduccia was traded to the Rays on July 31st, 2025 for Adam Serwinowski, Paul Gervase, and Ben Rortvedt. All three of them are still in the Dodger system and a year later so is Hunter. Suwinksi was signed as a free agent this spring and has spent the whole season in AAA knocking the cover off the ball. The Dodgers had no room for Suwinksi at the Major League level and he was blocking someone at the AA level so he had to go. I expected at least two of Ward/Tibbs/Ebhart/Suwinski/Thomas to be dealt to make room for the AA talent but at the end of the day it was only Suwinski who was moved. When you look at the two deals that Hunter Feduccia was part of, you can basically say, the Dodgers traded Suwinski and international pool money for Jacob Kmatz, Hunter Feduccia / Adam Serwinowski (minors), Paul Gervase and Ben Rortvedt. Problematically with both Will Smith and Dalton Rushing in the IL, Hunter and Ben will be the Dodger catchers in August. Hunter should be fine as a bridge until Dalton is healthy but the real meat of the deal is Jacob Kmatz. This is what BA said of him:

Kmatz, a 23-year-old righthander, is the only prospect in the trade and he heads to the Dodgers in the midst of a breakout season. In 53 innings between High-A and Double-A, he has a 2.89 ERA and 0.92 WHIP with 74 strikeouts and only 10 walks. He’s a pure reliever who relies on deception and command rather than stuff to get hitters out. His fastball velocity has ticked up into the mid 90s this year and misses bats at a high rate. He has a pair of secondaries: a slider that is his best bat-missing secondary with a whiff rate over 50% and a curveball.

Dodgers receive Ben Rortved, Dodgers give up Chayce McDermott. Rortved has now been traded for, released by the Dodgers, signed by the Dodgers, released by the Dodgers, and traded for once again by the Dodgers in the space of 13 months. Talk about a hot potato.

Dodgers receive Kris Bubic from the Royals, Dodgers give up AAA relief pitcher Carlos Duran. Duran was originally signed by the Dodgers, traded to the Athletics in June of 2025, and reacquired in December when he was released. Duran had done enough to get added back to the Dodger 40 man roster but not enough to be considered part of the 2026 Dodger Bullpen. This deal is a bit of a head scratcher because on one side you have 2025 AL All-Star Kris Bubic and on the other you have AAA bullpen fodder Carlos Duran. How can you get someone with the quality of Bubic so cheap? It is because the Dodgers get anything they want or is it because Bubic is currently on the IL, is a pending FA, and may or may not ever pitch for the Dodgers? Probably the latter, but I still love this deal. Bubic was a killer relief pitcher in 2024 before becoming an All-Star rotation piece in 2025. This deal is a two parter for me. The first part would be Bubic coming back as left handed relief pitcher in late August or Sept. If he even does that, this deal is a huge win. The second part is that it would not shock me if Bubic is signed by the Dodgers. This guy was one of the best pitchers in the AL in 2025 before his injury. Absolutely love this deal.

Dodgers receive Tarik Skubal, Tigers receive Zyhir Hope, River Ryan, Brady Smith – this seemed light for the two time AL CYA winner who is still in his prime. Even if Hope and Ryan become All-Stars, I’d do this deal 100 times because Ryan is not ready for the Dodger rotation, Hope is not ready for the Dodger outfield, and Smith is a long way away. I imagine this deal was as much about Skubal pitching for the Dodgers as it was keeping him from pitching against the Dodgers this October. If you want read an exhaustive review of River Ryan you should check out this link to Prospect Live: https://www.prospectslive.com/saving-prospect-ryan

Dodgers get Seth Halvorsen, Rockies get Nick Frasso and Landyn Vidourek – Halvorsen throws 100+ heat and while he struggled with the Rockies this is an arm you’d love to get in your system. This trade was made on July 20th, and since that point Halvorsen has not given up a run in four appearances for the OKC AAA Dodgers. I really feel, this deal is going to end up being a big deal. Frasso had a big arm, but injuries seemed to have sapped him of what he once was though he was starting to pitch better as the season wore on. Vidourek was stuck behind about ten Dodger outfielders and while he has big power as evidenced by the 470 foot home run he hit this past Sunday he was never going to be in the Dodger plans.

I’m a bit shocked the Dodgers didn’t move more of their outfielders, not only the multitude of prospects, but also the AAA variety that are clogging up the system. They only moved Suwinski, while they have three AA outfielders who should all be playing in AAA, and they have two A plus outfielders who need to be playing in AA. It would have been so much easier if they had simply let Tucker be and worked with a bridge instead of signing an anchor.